Axle generator drive



July 16, 1946. A. o. WILLIAMS 2,404,115

AXLE GENERATOR DRIVE Filed May 22, 1944 4 lSheets--Sheetl 1 INVENTOR.

July`16, 1946.

A. O. WILLIAMS AXLE GENERATOR DRIVE Filed May 22, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 16, 1946. A. o. WILLIAMS 2,404,115

AXLE GENERATOR DRIVE Filed May 22, 1944 4 sheets-sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

BY 7444,?56@ .W l

July 16, 1'946.

A. O. WILLIAMS AXLE GENERATOR DRIVE 4 sheets-sheet 4y Filed May 22, 1944 Patented July 16, 1946 UNITED STATES PAT ENT te Clark Equipment Company,

Buchanan,

Micha corporation of Michigan Application May. 22, 1944, serialy No. 536,849

1l Claims. 11

This; invention relates` to, axleV generatorI drives', and isv more particularly concerned with the arrangement and mounting of a, drive mechanism on theaxle-V of a; rail vehicle for drivingua generatoncarriedf byI the vehicle; body.

Numerousattemptshavebeen made to provide such drivesin the past, some of which contemplate the use of'a pulley ontheaxle drive through afbeltl to a generatorshaft, and' others involving the use of' gearing;

It appears that one of the primary problems involved in theprovision offsuch a drive is: toinstalliv a` mechanism on the axle shaft Wit-houtreuuiringJ anychange in thezshaft itself and: yetnot introducinginto the shaft any undue1 stresses that nfiigflfit.` reduce, the life ofl the shaft orA hasten failureof the shaft through erosion., overstressingof' localized points: or the: like. As a result, it has been consideredv impractical to weld, bolt or otherwisey secureia gear' tothe shaft, as the connection mustl be sufficiently floating to accommodate the torque: react-ions between the shaftand the generator. Also, the design must-be `suc-h that it will accommodate itself tcexisting axle constructitms novvf iin usey on rail vehicles, while yet providing for centering yof thegear with re-` spect to the axis of the rotation of the shaft and acceenmodating4 the circumferential torque disturbances produ-ecdl by the: reactions bet-Ween the car body and the car truck.

The present invention has for its primary object' Ythe provision of an axle shaft dri-ve for gencraters in which the drive is provided hy a loevell gear mountedv for conjoint rotation with the shaft and driving a pin-ion which in turn, through a suitable propeller shaft, is adapted to drive a generator supported preferablyv on the under side of the car floor. In ordery to absorb reactions the gear must be so mounted as notA to interfere with normal flexing ofthe axle shaft and not to impose any stresses thereon for` which the shaft has not been designed. In addition, a rotatable mounting must. be provided within the housing which encloses the gear, this housing in turn being suitably supported through torque reaction members to provide proper gear action in the event of relative movement between the car truck and the ear body.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a reaction cushioning means between the gear mounted for conjoint rotation with the axle and, the axle shaft, while yet providing for positive drive thereto during the normal cn-l eration of the vehicle.

v `incliner feature of the present invention resides in the provision. of; a construction which will, be capable of. installation on existing equip: ment, and also designed for ready maintenance., inspection andL repair Other ehiectsV and advantages` of the present invention will appear more fully from the fol? lowing detailed description which, taken in: Genf junction with theA accompanying drawings, will* disclose to those skilled in the art the particular construction, and operation of a preferred form of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1A is a transverse sectional view through an axle having a generator drive mechanism mounted thereon;

Figure 1B is a continuation of the structure shown in Figure 1A;

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view showing a modified arrangement for connecting the axle drive gear to the shaft;

Figure 3u is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3--.3 of Figure 1B; 4

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the construction of gear housing;

Figure 5 is a sectional' View through the Wheel hub showing a modified clamping arrangement; and Figure 6 is a sectional view taken'on line 5-6 of Figure 5. Y

Considering now the construction shown in Figures 1A and 1B, there is provided an axle shaft 5 of conventional desig-n such as that now used in rail vehicles of the freight or lpassenger type. This shaft has a tapered portion 6 leading to a substantially straight central portion 1, the

tapering of the shaft being for the purpose of accommodating flexing of the shaft under load, the design of the taper and the length thereof being accurately determined for the type of car which is mounted on the truck. rlhe shaft 5 is adapted to have mounted thereon a flanged car Wheel/8 having the tread portion 9 engaging the rails upon which the truck operates/and having therhub portion pressed onto..annlarged section I) of the shaft under 'ajh appreciable pressure such as to form a'rigid driving connection therebetween.

To provide for driving a gear from the axle shaft Without rigidly attaching the gear directly to the shaft, I have disclosed a cast metal sleeve I2 radially encircling the shaft and spaced therefrom to provide annular clearance therebetween. The sleeve I2 with the components thereof is mounted on the shaft prior to the time that the wheel 8 is pressed thereon.

The sleeve I2 is provided with a flanged sleeve I3 pressed thereon having the flange portion I4 through which are extended studs I5 by which the sleeve carries the annular ring gear I6, the gear I6 thus being rigidly connected for conjoint rotation with the elongated sleeve I2. On one side of the gear and sleeve assembly there is provided the tapered roller bearing assembly I 1 having an oil seal I8, and spaced from the opposite end of the sleeve I3 by means of the spacer I9 is a second tapered roller bearingv assembly 26 having an oil seal 22.

This provides for mounting the gear and associated sleeve I2 for free rotation Within a split housing 23, which housing is shown more in detail in Figure 4 as a cover portion 24 mated with the main housing portion 23 along an angularly extending plane, the housing 23 having a forwardly projecting nose portion 25 provided with suitable bearing supports for a pinionv shaft 23 carrying the pinion gear21 meshing with the ring gear I6. The outer end of the pinion shaft 26 is connected through a suitable coupling to the propeller shaft 28 leading to the drive shaft of the generator.

Mounted over the bearing seal members I8 and 22 and closing the opposite ends of the housing 23 are cap members 30 which are bolted or otherwise secured to the radial faces of the housing 23, and which enclose the oil seal members I8 and 22, These end cap members 30 are pro-vided with oil slinger portions 32, and are closed by the end member 33 mounted at the right-handy end of sleeve I2 and by a flanged portion 34 at the left hand end of the sleeve I 2. The end cap members 30 may be provided with suitable shims either at the face where they are bolted to the housing 23 as indicated at 35, or against the outer annular race of the bearing assemblies I1 and 20 as indicated at 36 in Figure 1B for purposes of adjustment of the bearings within the housing 23.

To provide for positive connection of the sleeve I2 carrying the ring gear I6 in driving relation to the axle, there is bolted to the left-hand end of the sleeve I2 the cylindrical flanged member 31 which has the flange portion 38 rigidly secured to the end of the sleeve I2 by means of studs 39. An annular rubber cylinder 40 is interposed between the internal annular surface of the sleeve 31 and the external annular surface of the extended cylindrical portion 42 of the member 43, which member is securely bolted to the hub of the wheel 8 as by means of the studs 44. Preferably, the rubber cylinder 40 is vulcanized to both of these surfaces to provide rigid connection thereto whereby the rubber is stressed when there is a torque reaction between the members 43 and 31. Thus, when the Vehicle starts and the wheel 8 begins to rotate, a cushioned drive is provided between the wheel 8 and the sleeve I2 through the rubber connection 46.

At the opposite end of the sleeve I2 ythere is provided a split clamp member 46 which is securely clamped about the end 41 of the sleeve I2,

VVVandghas. a reduced portion indicated clearly in Figure'3 adapted to be clamped about the axle shaft I2.

Interposed between tle\reduped end of the clamp 46 and the external surface Vof the shaft I2 there are provided two semi-cylindrical rubber` Thus, when the two halves of the member 46 are clamped together the rubber elements 48 and 49 are compressed about the external surface of the shaft 5 and they are locked against rotation. This provides for rigid connection or support for the end 41 of the sleeve I2 upon the axle shaft. Since Arubber connectionsvare provided at both ends of the sleeve I2, it is apparent that there is no metallic connection of the gear I6 to the axle shaft and that the driving connection is effected through rubber elements which do not in any way 'stress the shaft or produce any changes in the loads carried thereby.

Due to the bearings I1 and 2B, it is apparent that the gear I6 with the associated sleeve I2 is free to rotate conjointly with the axle 5 to provide for conjoint rotation of gear I 6 while the housing 23 is maintained in a substantially fixed position, being movable only in accordance with relative movements between the car axle and the car body. Rotation of gear I6 drives pinion 21 which, through shaft 26, imparts torque to the generator carried by the car body. It Will be apparent that because of the split design of the housing 23, this housing can be removed from the shaft without disturbing the connections of the sleeve I2 to the shaft and without requiring removal of the wheel 8. As a result, the entire mechanism is capable of ready assembly, maintenance and repair once the sleeve I2 has been secured in driving position.

In Figure 2 I have disclosed a modified form of construction in which the sleeve I2 is provided with a radially enlarged axially extending portion 60 terminating in a radial ange 62. This flange is bolted to the corresponding radial flange 63 of a cylindrical sleeve member 64 disposed in radial alinement with the cylindrical sleeve portion 65 of the member 66 bolted to the hub of the wheel 8. Interposed between the adjacent annular surface of the members 64 and 65 is the cylindrical rubber disc 6B which may be vulcanized to the surfaces to provide for a non-metallic driving connection between the axle 5 and the sleeve I2'. With such a construction the oil slinger portion 32 of the end cap 30 is axially enclosed within the disc 61 supported on the sleeve I2 adjacent the shoulder 68. In all other respects the arrangement shown in Figures 1A and 1B is provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 2.

In Figures 5 and 6 I have disclosed a modified means of connecting the driving sleeve I2 to the rail wheel of the vehicle. 'Ihe Wheel 8 in this form of construction which is mounted on the surface I0 of-the axle 5 has the inboard side of its hub portion turned to form a cylindrical shoulder 1D. The shoulder 'I0 which is annular in form is adapted to receive the connecting member or driving sleeve 12 which projects axially inwardly over the axle 5, and carries the rubber disc 40 coupled to the connecting sleeve 31. Adjacent the wheel hub the sleeve 12 is enlarged radially and provided with split clamp portions engaging around the annular surface, these split clamp portions being indicated at 13. The clamp portions 13 are slotted and -a suitable stud or bolt 14 is extended therethrough and serves\tortighten these clamp portions firmly around the annular shoulder 10. The shoulder 10 itself is provided with arcuate recess portions 15 located at diametrically opposite points and extending parallel to each other into which the bottom portion of the bolt 14 extends. This pro` vides for non-rotatively locking the sleeve 12 to 5 the hub of the wheel 8', and provides a fixed clamping engagement which eliminates the necessity of tapping the holes for receiving the studs dit as shown in Figure 1A.

With this construction, therefore, the sleeve 'l2 is non-rotatively connected in xed clamped engagement to the hub of the wheel 8', but may be readily dismounted therefrom by removal of the bolts 14.

It is therefore believed apparent that I have provided a novel type of axle generator drive wherein there is no metallic connection between the driving gear and the axle shaft, and also there is no distortion of the axle shaft itself. Consequently, the shaft maintains all of its desired characteristics as an axle shaft and yet provides for accommodating a ring gear for driving the generator.

It is to be understood that certain details of the present construction may be modified within wide limits without departing from the underlying principles thereof, and I therefore do not intend to be limited except as defined by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a solid vehicle axle having a wheel fixed thereon, an axially extending driving member fixed to the inboard side of said wheel and spaced radiaiiy about said axle, a

sleeve member surrounding said axle and spaced radially therefrom, said sleeve mem-ber having a radially enlarged end portion telescoping over said drive member, a gear secured to said sleeve member, non-metallic resilient means compressed between said end portion and said driving member and interconnecting said driving member and said end portion of said sleeve member for driving said gear, and a non-metallic resilient support on said axle for the opposite end of said sleeve member.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a gear housing about said gear, bearing means on said sleeve member rotatably mounting it in said housing, and a pinion shaft extending out of said housing and driven by said gear.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said non-metallic resilient means compri-ses a rubber cylinder vulcanized between adjacent overlapping annular surfaces of said driving member and said enlarged end portion whereby torque imposed therethrough stresses said rubber in shear.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said non-metallic resilient support includes semicylindrical rubber sections radially clamped about the external surface of said axle.

5. In combination, a solid axle havin-g a wheel pressed thereon, an axially extending annular driving member secured to the inboard side of said wheel, an elongated sleeve member encircling said axle and radially spaced therefrom,

supporting means at the end of said sleeve member remote from said wheel including a nonmetallic resilient support clamped around the external surface of said axle, supporting means yt the opposite end of said sleeve member including a non-metallic resilient connection to said driving member, a ring gear secured about Said sleeve member, a split housing enclosing said ring gear, bearing means on sleeve member rotatably mounting in said housing, and a pinion shaft journalled in said housing and driven from said ring gear upon rotation of said axle.

6. In combination, in an axle drive for a generator, a solid axle having a rail wheel pressed on the end thereof, an elongated sleeve encircling a portion of said axle and out of contact therewith, support means for the inner end of said sleeve including a clamp member engaging about said sleeve end and having non-metallic resilient ciamping engvecment about said axle, a radi.- ally enlarged axial extension on the opposite end of said sleeve adjacent said wheel, an axially extending driving member secured to the hub of said wheel and telescoping into said extension, a rubber ring vulcanized between adjacent annular surfaces of said driving member and extension to provide a resilient driving connection therebetween, and a ring gear fixed on said sleeve.

7, In combination, a solid rail truck axle having a Wheel pressed on one end thereof, an axially extending driving member secured to the inboard hub portion of the wheel and spaced radially about said axle, a sleeve radially encircling said axle and carrying gear means thereon, one end of said sleeve having a radially enlarged portion overlying said driving member, rubber means interposed between said overlying portion and said driving member for transmitting torque therebetween, clamp means carried by the other end of said sleeve, and rubber means encircling said axle and clamped thereto by said clamp means for resiliently supporting the opposite end of said sleeve.

8. The combination of claim '7 wherein said driving member is bolted to the inboard radial face of the hub of said wheel.

9. The combination of claim '7 wherein said enlarged end portion of said sleeve is detachable therefrom.

10. The combination of claim 7 wherein said rubber means is vulcanized between adjacent annular surfaces of said driving member and said enlarged end portion, said end portion being detachably secured to said sleeve.

11. The combination of claim '7 wherein the hub of said wheel has a machined annular shoulder, and said driving member is provided withV split clamping means secured about said shoulder.

ALFREDQ. WILLIAMS. 

